The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fined Lew Clark, of Choteau,
Montana, $2,000 for knowingly taking a threatened species in violation of
the Endangered Species Act.

After a four month
investigation, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents identified
Clark as the person who killed the bear. During an interview, Clark
admitted to shooting and killing a grizzly bear in the spring of 2000.
After killing the sow grizzly bear, Clark removed and destroyed the radio
collar from the bear’s neck.

Clark returned to the
scene of the killing in 2002 and disposed of the bear’s skull in a remote
location. Clark
has agreed to cooperate with authorities in locating and retrieving the
skull.

Grizzly bears were
listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species in the
lower 48 states in 1975. Historically, about 50,000 grizzly bears are
believed to have ranged throughout western North America. Today, there
are about 1,200-1,400 grizzlies located in Idaho, Montana,
Washington, and Wyoming. Almost half of that population inhabits the
Yellowstone ecosystem.

The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible
for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and
their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The
Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which
encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and
other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish
hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field
stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies

- FWS -

For
more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov